Just as Chen Mazi had said, there were countless lakes in the Yangtze River. No matter how many people there were, they would not be able to find them in a short period of time.
The hundreds of ships Gao Feng had sent out did not find any trace of Hu Yaowen. It was as if the two hundred people had suddenly disappeared along with the ships they were on. Helicopters flew back and forth over the Yangtze River, looking for any traces of Hu Yaowen. Above the Yangtze River, the passing ships were clearly visible to the helicopter pilots. Every ship had a blood-red flag to indicate its identity. Thousands of people traveled down the Yangtze River, searching for the place where Hu Yaowen could have landed, but it was all in vain. When night fell, almost no one believed that they would be able to find the defectors in a short period of time. Gao Feng had already lost all hope, pinning his only hope on Ai Qingshan. At the same time, he was conflicted. If Ai Qingshan found Hu Yaowen, what price would he have to pay to squeeze a cup of perilla pulp out of Zhang Huai An's fingers every day?
Night was not suitable for searching, so hundreds of search fleets gathered at a rendezvous point along the Yangtze River to wait for sunrise. All the helicopters rested at the hot spring base. That night, Zhang Xiaoqiang sat on the sofa in the living room, staring at the virtual map in front of him, deep in thought. On the ashtray beside him, cigarette butts were slowly overflowing. None of the cigarettes had been smoked more than a third. Cigarettes, which were considered luxurious outside, were wasted like rotten cabbages in Zhang Xiaoqiang's hands.
That night, Wang Le and his godson brought a group of people to guard the brightly lit factory. They sat on the floor full of rusty iron shavings and used a model to build an assembled barge. They were thinking hard about the means of transportation that would be used upstream in the future.
That night, the originally quiet Second Division was in a hubbub. Officers in neat military uniforms gathered in the conference room to discuss the establishment and equipment of the Second Yangtze River Fleet. They also determined the future development model. They had gotten rid of the worries of the day and were excited to think about the future.
After everyone fell asleep, Yomi and Gao Feng struggled in the flagship warship room of the First Fleet. Their eyes were sore as they drank cup after cup of aged tea, discussing Hu Yaowen's possible escape route with the dark brown tea. When the sky turned bright, the two of them sat on their chairs and dozed off. However, their ears were constantly tuned for any sound that might pop out from the radio.
In the early morning, the surface of the river was covered with a thin layer of mist. The white mist was like sand, and the water and clouds were like a fairyland. The sound of the motor of the speedboat broke the peaceful and light atmosphere. The white hull was like a sharp blade, splitting the mist that was like a white gauze skirt, drawing out layers of white waves, stirring up the mist that scattered the clouds, and slowly cruising downstream in the water near the shore.
"How can you be so sure that they left from the river?
There is no trace in the river, and they won't leave a mark on the bottom of the boat. I really don't know what you're thinking. "
Ai Qingshan hated the feeling of the fog on his face. It made him feel uncomfortable. His ability was to get close to metals, and metals were averse to water. He felt like he was rusting. It was strange that there was only fog on their side of the river, and there was no fog on the other side. The view was wider, and he did not understand why the little man next to him insisted on going this way.
The little man was less than 1.6 meters tall, and he was very thin, as if a gust of wind could blow him away. His slender limbs made people feel pity. How many times had he been starved to become so thin?
Most of the soldiers under Ai Qingshan's command were the same age as him. The oldest was only 22 years old, and those over 19 years old were all girls. The child with messy hair was probably even a little younger than him. He was wearing the same uniform as Ai Qingshan, but the style was definitely different. To be precise, there were no signs of modification, and it was not like Ai Qingshan's uniform with gold chains, silver rings, and a dazzling array of jewels.
"Intuition …"
The little man's voice was slightly hoarse, and it was a little high-pitched. It was obvious that he was a child with a voice changer. He did not speak much, and after saying two words, he did not say anything else. He stood at the bow of the boat with his eyes squinted, and raised his neck as if he was enjoying the cool feeling of the fog on his face. Ai Qingshan pouted, and carefully buckled the buckle that he had never buckled before. He took a step back, and stood slightly behind from the front. He used his small body to block the fog that was rushing toward him, and said unhappily, "Hey, Lil Shou, don't be so disrespectful to me.
No matter what, I'm still your boss, and a lackey has to follow the rules of a lackey. When I smoke, you have to light the fire. When I get into the car, you have to open the door. When I flirt with girls, you have to keep a lookout. Also … if you see Ai Xueqi, you have to call the police. Do you understand? "
Ai Qingshan was also trying to find something to say. Other than the fierceness in his eyes when he was in battle, he was usually fooling around with the boys and girls of his age. From the way he had never been respectful to Gao Feng, he knew that he had never played his role as a follower. As expected, the short man turned his face that was full of black spots and used his big black and white eyes to look at Ai Qingshan with disdain. He did not even want to talk to him. "I'm your captain …"
The little man's disdain made Ai Qingshan very unhappy. He opened his mouth and shouted. Halfway through, the little man finally spoke.
"The commander-in-chief is the one who pays the salaries …"
Ai Qingshan's face stiffened, and then he winked and said,
"Kid … Not bad, you've found someone to rely on?
I dare say that my boss doesn't even know whether you're a boy or a girl … "
Before he finished speaking, Ai Qingshan thought of something. He rubbed his nose and said,
"I don't know either. If I say you're a man, you're feminine. If I say you're a girl, you're masculine. You don't have breasts, nor do you have a butt. You don't have what a girl should have …"
Ai Qingshan was bored, and there was nothing to say. He made the little man next to him clench his small fists tightly. If he had enough strength, he might have used his knuckles to set off firecrackers. However, Ai Qingshan was much more mean. He did not know that he had successfully provoked the little man's anger. He continued, "You're neither a man nor a woman. You're neither a man nor a woman. You're a demon. Obviously, you have the potential to be a ladyboy. Ah … I understand … ah!"
Water splashed everywhere, and the crew on the yacht were in a mess. Ai Qingshan, who was flopping in the water, no longer had the time to provoke them. The cold river water turned him into a drowned rat, and his wet clothes clung to his body, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. And then there was the damn collar, which began to tighten as soon as it was wet, almost suffocating him. The speedboat quickly passed by him, and the ripples caused by the water pushed him far away. In the midst of his shouting, a red and white swimming ring wrapped around him. He only had time to shout, "Don't pull me … I can f * cking swim …"
As soon as he finished speaking, the rope tied to the swimming ring was pulled towards the speedboat floating on the surface of the water. At this time, his neck was strangled again. As the swimming ring moved rapidly, half of his face was in the water, and he was dragged to the side of the boat. When he was pulled onto the boat, he only had half a breath left. Just as he spat out the river water that had choked his lungs, his eyes spat out flames of anger. Not only did they make a fuss, but they actually pushed him into the river. Didn't they want to kill him?
Just as he was about to teach this arrogant boy a lesson, the little man pointed to the protruding object in the river and said, "It's them …"
"Impossible. Someone searched along the river yesterday. They must have seen such a big thing. Why would they need you to tell them what to do?
Boy, do you want to jump down yourself, or do you want me to kick you out? "
Ai Qingshan ignored the little man's reason. His eyes were very unfriendly as he slowly approached the little man. However, the little man was not afraid at all. His fingers moved from the metal fence of the protruding object to the wetland on the shore. Then, several crew members behind him shouted, "The Yangtze River receded last night … These things were originally submerged in the water …"
"Look, that's the roof of the ship. The antenna on it was broken …"
"There's no rust on it. This ship didn't sink for long. They must have sunk it …"
All kinds of evidence were found, which made Ai Qingshan's face turn livid. Compared to the details that everyone could see, he looked like an idiot. The anger in his heart burned more and more fiercely. The little man looked up and glanced at him. He put his hands in his wide sleeves and lowered his head to walk past him. He looked very careful. Looking at the trembling posture of his legs, it was obvious that he was afraid now …
Ai Qingshan was Ai Qingshan after all. Since he could make a team of thousands of people face death calmly, he naturally had his tolerance. He took a deep breath and fiercely blew out the exhaust gas. He gritted his teeth and said, "Pull to the shore …"